When to Disassemble an Item for International Shipping

When should you disassemble for shipping? Does it matter what the item is, and are certain items safer when you disassemble them? It’s difficult to know how to pack for international shipping, yet a little common sense and the willingness to ask questions will get you far on this front.

1. Safety. As a general rule, if it can be disassembled and shipped safely in this disassembled state, do so. Anything that can come apart into simple pieces and be put back together again may be better protected by shipping like this. There are exceptions, of course. You don’t want to be taking apart mechanical components or shipping engines as a mish-mash of their parts. This is counter-intuitive.

It’s a good guideline when the various parts are simple, easy to keep track of, and easy to reassemble. For instance, you shouldn’t ship a bicycle all as one piece. You can break it down into its parts and ship it ready for easy reassembly. This saves on space, cost, and better protects the bike in transit.

2. Value. A desk that can be taken apart and reassembled easily, and shipped more compactly by doing so? That makes sense to disassemble for shipping. Yet you wouldn’t take a couch or antique table apart.

This is the next factor: how valuable is the item? It’s completely different to take an Ikea table apart than it is an antique. The antique should be specially shipped, floated and packed soundly in a crate so as to minimize any potential damage. The Ikea table can be unscrewed into a flat piece and legs without decreasing its value.

Of course, this is an exaggerated example. Many examples won’t be so cut and dry, but will fall somewhere in the middle. The best thing to do is to contact a shipping company and inquire about how to pack for international shipping. We can give you advice as well as an estimate for the cost.

3. Customs. There’s one other factor to consider, and this is the customs laws different countries have. It’s rarer to cross one of these regulations, but you may have an item that’s legal to ship in disassembled, but illegal to ship in as one piece – or vice versa. These laws may seem arbitrary, but they often have a legitimate reason for their creation.

When in doubt, ask. We can’t go over every item in the world in this space, but we can answer and give estimates for specific items you need to pack for international shipping.